skid steer lifting/pulling on muddy hills

[yanmars]

I have trees being taken down that need to be moved up muddy hills. Some are large and may weigh a ton. The skid steer will be able to lift that amount but will there be enough traction on the wet, muddy hills to do that effectively and safely?
On smaller trees it has been a real struggle with a MFWD farm tractor either pulling or on the pallet forks. The good ag tires quickly fill up with mud. Trouble going up and down the hills.
Using two, 2 horse teams at times but it is more than they can do also. Thoughts. Thanks

 

[4570Man]

No a skid steer will do worse than the tractor in mud. You need a different tool.

 

[mikester]

CTL will work better than a wheeled machine. Keep your loads low low low. Cut your logs smaller. Get ready for excitement.

A good set of euro chains on all four wheels will help the tractor. You need a LOT of counterweight and ballast on a tractor.

I hate SS due to their unstability and rough ride. I wouldn't use one for what you are doing.

 

[seville009]

How big are the hills?

if not huge, one possible method I would try is put the skidsteer at the top of the hill where it's level and you have more traction and use a chain or strap to hook the skidsteer to the log and then pull.

May need to rig something to the front of the log to keep it from digging into the hill as you pull up.

Worth a shot at least.

edit: looks like you have two threads started on this; just saw the other one

 

[LD1]

Some over the tire tracks for the skidloader would help with traction

 

[Diggin It]

Neighbor with a tracked skidder moved my 500 gallon LP tank with about 250-300 gallons in it. Ground was fairly wet. Picked it up OK but one track slipped quite a bit going up a small incline while on a mix of turf, mud and gravel. Other track was more on turf and did much better. Once he got turned and positioned more square to the incline and got on more gravel than mud, the second track gained footing and he was all set.

 

[dirttoys]

My skid would not do well at that. I would skid them up from flat ground or wait till it dries or freezes? x would do it, but, man what a mess.

Best,

ed

 

[jk96]

A CTL with sawtooth tracks will do fairly well depending on the grade. Huge difference in muddy traction when I switched to that pattern. Nothing will do well on a very steep muddy grade though.

Sawtooth Pattern Rubber Track | Camoplast | SD3208648BBE| PAIR

Find Camoplasts Sawtooth Pattern Rubber Tracks used on the 150T JCb Skid Steer.

www.skidsteersolutions.com

 

[4570Man]

A CTL with sawtooth tracks will do fairly well depending on the grade. Huge difference in muddy traction when I switched to that pattern. Nothing will do well on a very steep muddy grade though.

Sawtooth Pattern Rubber Track | Camoplast | SD3208648BBE| PAIR

Find Camoplasts Sawtooth Pattern Rubber Tracks used on the 150T JCb Skid Steer.

www.skidsteersolutions.com

How do those ride? My Kubota has block tracks and they ride pretty bad especially on solid ground. I think when they’re worn out I’ll go with a more continuous pattern.

 

[jk96]

How do those ride? My Kubota has block tracks and they ride pretty bad especially on solid ground. I think when they’re worn out I’ll go with a more continuous pattern.

They ride good. Much better than the block pattern that most use. They have a ton of traction and bite. I can usually put every bit of power of my 90 hp machine to the ground in most dirt where the block would slip first. If on grass they will strip it easily if you make a pivot instead of a moving turn and rough to pivot on pavement due to how much grip they have. I'm rarely on pavement so not an issue for me.